can we help
+44(0)1983 296060
+1 757-788-8872
tell me moreJoin a rally

Menu

Firefly - Back in the Northern Hemisphere



Today is Wednesday 22nd February and Firefly is 1250 miles from Grenada. Yesterday at 1425 she crossed the equator and is now back in the northern hemisphere. No major celebrations this time as we are all seasoned mariners having crossed the equator before, but we did toast Neptune with a beer shortly after our crossing.

This part of the South Atlantic has been grey with an ongoing stream of heavy squalls - somewhat intimidating. Interestingly as we were approaching the line it looked sunnier on the other side and today is certainly a better day. We hope that we are now through the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) which is more generally called the 'Doldrums'. The wind has been reasonably good through this notoriously calm stretch and we have sailed through on average at about 5 knots. We now have a 15 to 18 knot north easterly that feels like a steady 'trade wind' and Firefly is broad reaching on starboard take at 7 to 8 knots.

To speed progress along the length of the NE Brazilian coast there is a favourable current. We downloaded a prediction of the location of the strongest streams when we left Salvador and are trying to incorporate these into our route. Off Forteleza a couple of days back we were getting a 1.5 knot boost and once we get north of the mouth of the Amazon River we will enter an area where current may reach 3 knots, really beneficial.

We are starting to plan the timing of our 2 intended stops in French Guiana. We expect to arrive, anchor and spend the night of Saturday 25th amongst the group of islands called 'Iles Du Salut'. The group includes Royale, Saint-Joseph and Diablo - Diablo is Devil's island from the book Papillion and famous for the Drefus Affair. The islands are just offshore from Kourou the location of the French Space centre where they launch the Ariana Rockets . There is one launch a month the last being on 14th Feb so we will miss seeing one which is a mixed blessing as the anchorages around the islands during the launch period are closed( but it would have made a great display possibly rivaling Salcombe's fireworks!) We plan to go ashore and get some time on land and celebrate Peter's birthday (on the 26th) and then sail on another 100 miles to the Maroni River. Following the river we will go some 15 miles inland to Saint Laurent di Maroni, right on the border with Surinam. There is a small new marina there and it is becoming known as a location where cruisers can head to miss the hurricane season in the Caribbean.

If everything goes to plan we will arrive in daylight a few hours before high water in order to travel up the relatively shallow Maroni River. We will spend the 27th February through to 1st March at St Laurent and then be on our way to Grenada, where we have to arrive by Monday 6th March ready for Gerard to fly out and Susie fly in on the 8th.

Paul, Peter and Gerard

Previous | Next